Review: "Patricia Gets Ready (for a Date with the Man That Used to Hit Her)" by Martha Watson Allpress

Patricia Gets Ready (for a Date with the Man That Used to Hit Her) by Martha Watson Allpress
Published May 2022 via Nick Hern Books
★★★★

What the title says: Patricia used to be in a relationship with a man who hit her. She managed to cut ties and get back on her feet...but now he's in town again, and he wants to get dinner, and when all is said and done she still doesn't know how to say no to him.

This is a one-woman play, which I (as a non-actor) imagine makes for a more difficult performing experience (nobody to play off of, nobody to save you if you fumble for a line) but which in this case makes a lot of sense. As the audience, we don't have to worry about Patricia's ex showing up and us seeing violence—but we can understand from Patricia's retellings and the occasional conversation she has with somebody who isn't (to us) there just how bad things were for her, and just how much it has impacted her personally.

I might or might not want to see this performed (it seems, frankly, kind of stressful), but I bet it's powerful, and I bet it resonates with far too many audience members.